Basic steps to form the passive voice:

1 The object of the active becomes the subject of the

passive.
2 We add the auxiliary “to be” – “is/are” when the main
verb of the active is present, and “was/were” when it
is past.
3 In negative or interrogative sentences the auxiliary
“to do” is replaced by “to be”:
- do(n’t) / does(n’t) become is(n’t) / are(n’t);
- did(n’t) becomes was(n’t) or were(n’t).
4 We turn the main verb of the active into the past
participle.
5 If we need or want to add the agent of the passive,
we must use “by”.
We use the passive voice when we are more interested in the action
itself rather than in “who” or “what” did the action.
The agent can be:
* unimportant – “These shoes are made in Indonesia.” (the action
is more important than who made the shoes)
* unknown – “The windows were broken yesterday.” (somebody
broke the windows and we don’t know who did it)
* implicit – “He was arrested.” (most certainly by the police)

Magazines use pop singers as models. When did Tom write this letter?

Pop singers are used as models by magazines. When was this letter written by Tom?
1 2 4 5 3 1 4 5

A. Complete the blanks with is/are + participle. C. Rewrite the sentences in the passive
1) Computers __________________ (sell) in many different and match them with the pictures.
stores.
2) English ___________________________ (speak) almost
everywhere.
3) _______ these shoes ___________ (design) in Portugal?
4) Less ice-cream __________________ (eat) in the winter.
5) Spanish ___________________ (teach) in my school too.
6) Fashionable clothes ___________________ (wear) both
by boys and girls.
7) Many people ____________________ (influence) by the
media.
8) Lots of TV ____________________ (watch) nowadays.

B. Rewrite the sentences in the passive – use the “by”

agent only when necessary.

1) He takes Linda to school every day.

_______________________________________________
2) They don’t close the shops on Saturdays.
_______________________________________________
3) When does Mike feed the dog?
_______________________________________________
4) Michael wins every competition.
_______________________________________________
5) People invent new things all the time.
_______________________________________________ 1) He didn’t find his files.
6) Does your mother always prepare your breakfast? 2) He washed his car on Sunday.
_______________________________________________ 3) I didn’t paint the whole room.
7) We don’t wear school uniforms in this school. 4) My grandfather repaired the old clock.
_______________________________________________ 5) John took a lot of photos at the party.
8) He keeps his money in a safe place. 6) Richard broke the window.
_______________________________________________ 7) The detective solved the case.
9) My mother buys all my clothes. 8) I didn’t make my bed this morning.
_______________________________________________
9) They bought the tickets yesterday.
10) Do you sell safety-pins in your store?
_______________________________________________ 10) The Smith drove the children to school.
11) Someone stole his wallet.
12) Slaves built these pyramids.